Work Text:
A tired sigh escaped Mingyu's lips as, after typing the password on the panel located next to the elevator, the doors finally opened and he entered blindly pressing the button that would take him to his apartment on the top floor of that elegant building.
Mingyu leaned against the back of the spacious elevator as it started up, banging his head on the expensive mirror that stood there, closing his eyes and pressing his hand against it to take away some of the pain he was feeling — from lack of a decent night's sleep —, letting another even more weary breath out of his lungs.
Mingyu was so tired. He knew it would be a week with a lot of demand on his schedule, but he didn't imagine he would be so exhausted.
Fatigue was already an old friend of Mingyu. After all, being an idol of a group so well recognized inside and outside Korea, besides having his face representing several brands, made Mingyu never really stand still for long. He would always have some activity to do, some new project or work that his company wanted him to make, or he wanted to try by himself.
It was a busy life that demanded a lot from him, no doubt, but Mingyu loved being an idol. He loved singing and performing on a stage with the other three members of his group. Mingyu wouldn't trade his life for anything in this world, no matter how many sleepless nights he'd have and how tired he might be; being on stage, singing and dancing was his life and everything Mingyu dreamed of doing since he was a little kid.
As the metal box continued to rise, too slow for his liking, Mingyu pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the notifications on his lock screen.
Some messages were from his social media, others were some news from sites Mingyu followed and, the vast majority, came from his messaging app. Some of them were from the gc that he and his bandmates kept, other notifications were from other groups of friends and a few were from his manager — who was actually just giving him his schedule for the week after his break since their group would miraculously have a 15-day break before heading into the studio and recording the next album.
The last notification that Mingyu had on his phone had been sent about four hours ago and Mingyu had already seen it, but he couldn't respond right away, because he was busy recording content for his fans with his colleagues, and as the hours passed the fact that he left Seokmin with no answer completely escaped his mind.
my sunshine ♡
come home late tonight? 😕
you:
yeah, i'm sorry babe
there are probably still a few scenes to shoot
after that we'll have a quick meeting, then we can go home
my sunshine ♡
ooh, i see! my baby works so hard 💪
you:
ㅋㅋ
cute :3
are you home yet, seokkie??
my sunshine ♡
yep!
i've just arrived actually
maybe 10 min? smth like that
i was worried about not seeing you here yet, just wanted to check u ^^~
you:
i'm fine, darling
i think two more hours at most and i'll be home!
my sunshine ♡
oh, okay! that's great!
i won’t bother you anymore then
take care then and send a hug to hyungs and Hansolie! 💕
you:
what abt me 😞
i don't get any hugs?
my sunshine ♡
of course not!
you get kisses when you get home! 😘
btw, do i wait u up for dinner?
Seokmin's question was left viewed, but not answered.
It was after two o'clock in the morning and Mingyu didn't even have the time or mind to answer his boyfriend, so Seokmin wouldn't wait for him as he got more and more stuck at work.
Another disappointed sigh escaped the brunette's lips.
Mingyu knew that Seokmin wouldn't be upset, he wasn't that kind of person, and Seokmin knew that Mingyu just didn't respond when he was really busy with his work. Still, that didn't mean it didn't make Mingyu angry not to answer his love.
When Mingyu finally arrived at his penthouse, and after going through two more security-coded panels — he personally thought it was overkill, but when you live the idol life as he does, over-security proves never to be too much —, Mingyu stepped into his large apartment.
He made sure to lock the door behind him and the light in the hall turned on by itself as Mingyu removed his shoes and changed them into the pair of sandals that was strategically left there.
The first thing Mingyu noticed was that the lights in the house were turned off, but the glow coming from the living room indicated that the TV was still on. Mingyu wondered if he should call Seokmin or not but soon stopped himself from doing it. Mingyu still remembers the episode where Seokmin was watching some suspense drama and complained for hours and hours about how he almost died of fright because his name was called so suddenly.
Turns out that the best thing Mingyu did was to go quietly into the living room because even though his boyfriend wasn't watching a thriller show (the almost blinding glow of the TV was because of Harry Potter) if Mingyu had called for Seokmin he would probably wake up the boy who was sleeping comfortably on the couch.
Mingyu smiled as he remembered how his mother and sister teased him for buying such a big couch when he moved in, but not even they could deny the fact that it was comfortable and if Mingyu ended up sleeping on it (something that happened often when he arrived after an intense workout and didn't have the strength to go straight to the shower or go to bed) at least Mingyu would have a few peaceful hours of sleep and not wake up in pain because the padding wouldn't make him sore.
Though probably in Seokmin's case, he should have fallen asleep there waiting for Mingyu to come home.
The tallest walked slowly, admiring the slender figure of the man who was sleeping there. A loving smile plastered Mingyu's mouth as he watched Seokmin laying there, so peaceful and serene… all worries swept away from his face.
Mingyu let his eyes wander around the room and, as soon as he found the control, he turned off the TV so that the only glow that was still present on his roof was the shine of the moon and stars passing through the large windows.
The image Mingyu now admired was ethereal .
Seokmin was always so beautiful… and so incredibly talented.
He wasn't considered Seoul's breakout actor, musical actor, and model for nothing.
Seokmin's rise in the world of dramas and musicals came from his unique ability and professionalism. Everybody was mesmerized by his first role as a secondary actor, Seokmin drew so much attention that the scriptwriters changed his plot a little so that he appeared a little more, and from then on, the directors practically fought to have Seokmin as their protagonist.
Seokmin's success was even more resounding when he proved to have a powerful and angelic voice, requests for auditions in musicals began to fall on his desk non-stop.
In addition to his undeniable talent, part of Seokmin's success lay in his unique and charming looks, as well as having a duality that no one else could match. He was masculine and strong, but from a different angle, you could see all the delicacy of his features. With a smile Seokmin was able to melt thousands and thousands of hearts, everyone who saw him was immediately enchanted by him, but all that was needed was a camera facing him — or a request from one of the photographers or directors —, that his expression changed. Seokmin could mold his face into a more serious or sexy aura, gaze glowing with desire or a force to be feared; Seokmin also managed to convey a cute concept with a blink of his eye.
Seokmin was considered a rare jewel in the industry as it did not need to be cut to perfection, practically all the traits he needed to grow up already belonged to him. Of course, that didn't make him work less, or take less care of himself and appreciate his profession, and that delighted Mingyu more than anything since he met Seokmin.
Exactly right there, lying on the sofa in his living room with his face lit only by the stars, Mingyu felt a little more in love with Seokmin.
Because there was Seokmin's true calm and innocent essence. Mingyu even imagined that one day, he would have the honor of seeing the weaknesses and what made the young man stronger — even more so being in the warmth of his home.
As Seokmin seemed to be in a heavy sleep, Mingyu once more slowly walked out of the room and into the kitchen. He already had caught a quick dinner with his bandmates but wanted to check if the younger had done the same too, just in case.
Mingyu didn't take long, as soon as he reached the door of his bedroom, he already went to his private bathroom and took a long and hot shower. As he let the water wash away all his sweat and tiredness from his aching muscles, Mingyu's thoughts traveled to how lucky he was to have Seokmin in his life and how even though there was everything to go wrong, their relationship did work out and became more than one day they were expecting.
Contrary to what the public, press, and fans knew, Mingyu and Seokmin didn't embark on a relationship willingly and didn't have their first date in a cheap restaurant where by coincidence a fansite saw them and spread rumors of a relationship.
The two idols had been arranged by their companies into a fake dating to allay some of the rumors surrounding Mingyu. Both were under contract with different companies, but they were partners in the Korean entertainment market.
Malicious gossip sites started to point and speculate — with no basis whatsoever other than wanting to receive likes and more hits on their mediocre sites —, a “ heartbreaker ” fame for Mingyu, using photos of the times he went out with his friends and other co-workers for fun as if they were records of multiple romantic encounters he had.
Even worse, some had the nerve to spread edited photos and false reports that made Mingyu look like a bad person in his "various" relationships.
Of course, his company didn't like at all having one of the most successful group members in such defamation, because even though dating was the most normal thing in the world, idols had no such privilege with fans who felt they had the right to control their lives as they please, and with the media ready to distort their image and influence people with those ridiculous headlines: “ Who would have expected that of such sweet face? Hanging out with lots of people? What else does he hide? ”
What started as something silly, if it wasn't shut up soon, could open the door to a much bigger fire in the future and cause irreparable damage. It wouldn't be the first time they've seen something like this happen in their line of work.
It wasn't a problem for Mingyu to deny everything in front of his company, besides not being true, the defense coming from his bandmates and his manager was enough so that his bosses didn't get too angry. Also, the company didn't have a policy against dating, but they always asked for as much discretion as possible, because of the type of market they were in.
However, even with his company's position denying everything and filing defamation suits, rather than shutting these rumors up, more began to appear saying how the company was trying to do damage control, that Mingyu must have been heavily repressed and everything what they said was true, that the boy was hiding much more and maybe he wasn't such a good person... Their "evidence"? Mingyu avoided public appearances (to avoid indirect questions) and didn't post anything on his social media for a week, in addition to avoiding leaving his house if it was not to fulfill his schedule.
Noting that those vultures did not calm down or leave Mingyu alone, the management thought it best to give something to feed them, but that it was controlled by the company and not the gossip site, and in that way, Lee Seokmin came into Kim Mingyu's life.
Mingyu already knew Seokmin, it was impossible not to know him at this point. Seokmin's unique and beautiful face was stamped on every corner of the city, whether it's because of a new drama or a magazine essay.
Having partner companies made it easier for Mingyu and Seokmin's bosses to set up a meeting and discuss the details and establish a contract for a fake dating between their biggest stars.
Everyone would benefit, Mingyu's company would be able to get the paparazzi off their feet, and on top of that both companies would attract more and more space in the media, if only for a short period.
After all, when the news that the famous, renowned vocalist and rapper Kim Mingyu was in a relationship with the stunning uprising star Lee Seokmin spread, everyone would talk about them for days, be enchanted by them, and in the end, could draw even more fans to them.
Within a week, Mingyu and Seokmin were officially introduced and a fake dating deal was put in their hands. It wasn't like they had a choice, but they managed to give some of their ideas for what would or wouldn't work for the two of them. Since they were in this together, and couldn't refuse what the company ordered, at least both could create a good environment for them.
To say it was awkward at first would be putting it mildly.
Their first meeting had been accompanied by photographers hired by the company to spread the first rumors through the media, and Mingyu still has no idea how he survived.
It was more strange and awkward for Mingyu because Seokmin was already an actor, so it wasn't easy for him to exchange passionate touches and glances.
It wasn't easy either putting on an act but pretending you weren't doing it. Seokmin wasn't used to being his natural self to a camera and pretending it wasn't even there.
Still, as time went by, the ice was broken and both found a friend in each other. They were practically in the same entertainment business, they shared the same worries and fatigues, they were in this together because a false rumor could cause something much worse in Mingyu's career, there was no way to not approach someone who understood and was helping without charging anything in return.
Mingyu learned how sweet Seokmin was, and to his gigantic surprise how shy and quiet he was. The youngest actually talked a lot when he was excited about something, but in front of strangers, he always kept to himself. Mingyu learned that was all a work of his withdrawn nature, Seokmin was slow to warm up around strangers, but when he did… Mingyu never found someone who was so clear in his affection and he gave it so smoothly even without knowing if he would receive it back.
Seokmin was calm, he didn't charge anyone and didn't judge people by how things looked; he liked to listen to everyone, liked to protect and give advice, and never expected anything in return.
Although that didn't mean he didn't want to.
The first time Mingyu realized that Seokmin yearned for this same affection as he gave, was on a day when he decided to pick him up from his job. Their relationship was already much better, their friendship was light and simple, and pretending to be dating was not difficult when the two got closer, if not more than what was requested by the company.
When Mingyu arrived at the place where Seokmin was filming a new series, he was surprised by the tired and haggard appearance of the youngest. The day at Seokmin's work had been exhausting, going to four different places for the W Korea magazine photoshoot and then going to the series set location. Added to his lack of sleep and lack of proper nutrition, Seokmin was at his limit of fatigue.
That night, at the right moment Mingyu saw Seokmin, he stretched out his arms and held Seokmin as tight as he could, promising to take care of him and take away all the weight he was feeling.
In this way, Mingyu found himself even more attached to Lee Seokmin, always checking to see how he was doing and when his schedule allowed, Mingyu always made a point of seeing him in person.
It took a while and a lot of help from his members, specially Seungcheol, for Mingyu to notice and understand how his relationship with Seokmin was no longer limited and drawn along the lines of that contract he signed months ago; but it also no longer fits into “ just friends ”.
When Seokmin and Mingyu both decided to keep a friendship, it was so they wouldn't get too awkward when they needed to act like a couple in love. But when their relationship became more natural, the word friends seemed to be too small to encompass the meaning of Seokmin in Mingyu's life.
It wasn't a friend that his heart called Seokmin every time they held hands or intertwined their arms.
Neither when they hugged and left a gentle caress on their backs.
Not friends when Mingyu made a point of cooking for Seokmin and sometimes even feeding Seokmin's mouth.
Mingyu didn't look with friendly eyes as Seokmin gently stood on tiptoe so he could fix Mingyu's long hair.
A friend didn't seem like the right definition for someone who made Mingyu's heart flutter, his skin crawl, and tremble when his lips met in chaste kisses given in places where there was an audience.
Mingyu doesn't know when all that fake relationship became real, much less when his feelings for Seokmin evolved into love , but looking back at each moment they shared, it was no surprise that he fell in love with someone like Seokmin.
And maybe the world wasn't so cruel, as Seokmin also felt terribly in love with Mingyu too.
Luck was also on their side when their companies weren't reluctant to terminate that confidentiality contract and not go to the end of it, where after a year they would part ways amicably, just let them live their lives. Surely they had already achieved what they wanted, the rumors were erased with the news of a lasting and stable relationship and all the buzz they made in the media with the news had already turned into more fame and profit for them.
Mingyu and Seokmin could have been lying when they first said they liked each other, but they were definitely saying nothing but the truth when declared themselves and blurted out "I love you" every single time.
Mingyu came out of the bathroom feeling much lighter, with his pajamas on, walked into the living room being greeted by the adorable vision of Seokmin half awake and half asleep, scratching his eyes trying to shake the sleep from his body and his face completely confused and lost.
Lovely .
Mingyu continued his way to the room and it wasn't until he finally entered it that Seokmin noticed his presence.
“Oh, hyung…” he yawned, “I didn't see that you were home already,” Seokmin said with a slight pout to his lips, as if scolding himself for not staying awake and waiting for Mingyu, or…
“You should have woken me up, hyung.”
Or he was upset that he hadn't been woken up.
Mingyu found it immensely adorable how Seokmin always liked to welcome him at home. The youngest insisted on always greeting Mingyu when he arrived from the street with a kiss and a quick hug “ to recharge the energy ” he said.
“But you seemed to be in such a good sleep, my baby”
“Still! You could have woken me up when you arrived, I was waiting for you anyway,” the blonde said, now fully seated on the couch, but Seokmin's eyes were still half-closed as if they were fighting to stay open contrary to what their owner wanted to do.
Mingyu laughed at his boyfriend's cuteness.
“Yes, yes I could, but you know I wouldn't call you anyway, hm?”
Mingyu then bends down on the couch next to his lover, leaving a kiss on Seokmin's forehead, who signed with affection. Both loved giving and receiving touches like that, Mingyu was more than happy to have someone who could be so affectionate without fear of sounding sticky.
“How was your day?”
“Good,” Seokmin replied, finally managing to win the battle against his sleep and lift his beautiful long eyelashes so Mingyu could see his dark brown eyes, “I managed to clear my schedule for next week, but I had to go to three more meetings today. But overall everything was fine, and yours?”
“Exhausting!” Mingyu changed the timbre of his voice, letting the words drop like those of a fretful and, without a doubt, tired child.
The fluffy pout on his full lips drew a squeak of laughter from Seokmin, he found it adorable when the older one acted like that, all sly — and he also knew very well that Mingyu used him to get what he wanted.
“Oh, my poor Mingoo-hyung, how dare they?” Seokmin used the same tone of voice as Mingyu, and it got a low but amused laugh from the couple.
“You already ate, right?” Mingyu asked as Seokmin's hand caressed a side of his face.
“Uhm, yes I did,” Mingyu held the palm and lightly kissed the boy's wrist, satisfied with his response. Mingyu just wanted to make sure he kept his boyfriend healthy.
“Good, I also had dinner with the guys before coming home. I think we can just go to bed, huh? What do you say?”
“Sounds like a plan,” Seokmin replied as he stretched, the sleeves of his pajamas slipping down his arms and showing his beautiful skin.
The desire flashed through Mingyu, but he was tired and Seokmin was barely awake, any idea other than sleep wouldn't be well accepted by either of them.
“Carry me?”
“Like what? Carry you on my lap?”
“Yeah, hyung, carry me on your lap, how else do you think?”
“Yah! You take advantage of me, I'm your hyung!”
“Yes, you're my hyung and you're also my beautiful, strong and hot boyfriend, with the prettiest voice and the best dancer I have ever seen, who loves me so much and will carry me to his bed, okay?”
Mingyu could not contain the smile that stubbornly rose on his lips. He was terribly in love with that man who insisted on praising everything that Mingyu was and represented, with affection and love, even though it left Mingyu a little embarrassed every time he listened.
Mingyu has been in other relationships a long time before, but none of them has received as much support and spontaneous praise as he received from Seokmin.
“Just because you compliment my voice and my dancing, to be clear.”
“Of course,” Seokmin rolled his eyes but smiled affectionately as Mingyu's broad, muscular arms wrapped around his body, with the same affection and devotion, and led him into the bedroom so they could both sleep properly after weeks of intense work.
If Mingyu wasn't the lucky one to have the most beautiful man in his arms on the way to his bed, Mingyu didn't know what to call it then.